August commercial rents hold firm

Rental values across the UK’s commercial property market held firm during August, according to the latest CBRE Monthly Index.

Capital values fell by -0.5% in August, a smaller decline than July’s -3.3%, suggesting effects of the UK’s vote on the question of EU membership have had a minimal impact on the market.

Miles Gibson, head of UK research at CBRE, said: “Despite fears that the UK property market would suffer significantly as a consequence of Brexit, August turned out to be a relatively stable month, with rents holding up and the drop in capital values starting to slow, and more quickly than many expected.

The trend was mirrored by total returns, which rose from -2.9% in July to -0.1% across the UK last month.

Overall, rents were static in August, Offices in London’s West End and Midtown saw rental values drop by -0.3%, though offices in outer London and around the M25 performed better, with rental value growth of 0.1%.

Rental values grew slightly across UK retail property, by 0.1%.

Gibson continued: “August is traditionally a quiet period, but this data provides good evidence for a fairly rapid re-pricing and continued resilience in occupier markets across the board.”